Although whiskey is the star guest at New Year's parties, beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage. In fact, Venezuelans are in third place among the most beer drinkers in the world.
Beer is the Venezuelan's favorite drink and whiskey is the favorite at Christmas. But trends are changing: now rum is also filling glasses.
The weeks before the Christmas celebrations are the busiest in one of the most important wineries in Caracas, in Las Mercedes.
People come and go all day long. While some walk the aisles, others stand in long lines, like those in supermarkets. What you see most are whiskey bottles. The most daring, or those with larger families, carry entire boxes.
Although Scotch is the special guest this holiday season, beer has historically been the Venezuelan's favorite drink on the beach, at a barbecue, at a party, or during a daily heat attack. It is enough to review the reports of global beverage market analyst organizations, such as Canadean, to confirm the trend: Venezuela is in third place for beer drinkers, with 95 liters per year per capita. The first two are the Czech Republic (161 liters) and Germany (109 liters), according to the study carried out in 2010.
Between 1990 and 2007, beer contributed -at least- half of the pure alcohol that Venezuelans drank, according to Seniat figures.
Data from the Venezuelan Chamber of Beer Manufacturers (Caveface) indicate that our “cold” stands out for its low alcohol content (between 3 and 6%), and that is why it is direct competition with other drinks, even soft drinks.
Pedro Guzmán, former president of the Chamber of the Venezuelan Alcoholic Species Industry (Civea), points out that although whiskey flies off the shelves by the end of the year, it is the beers that cover the general market statistics, with more than 90% of liquors.
“Twenty years ago we were recognized worldwide for drinking luxury whiskey, 12 years. That has already changed due to purchasing power, exchange control, and even fashion and other cultural factors. Now our preference for beer and other liquors that we produce is much more felt,” says Guzmán.
Another investigation carried out by the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (Flacso) revealed that Venezuela is the country in the region where alcohol is drunk the most. In a year, an average Latin American can drink 5.5 liters of pure alcohol.
In that same time, a Venezuelan drinks 8.9 liters. Further behind is the Dominican Republic, with 8 liters and El Salvador, with a modest consumption of 2.6 liters of alcohol per citizen per year.
Even so, Latin Americans, including Venezuelans, drink much less than Europeans, who are the most frequent in the world, with 13 liters of pure alcohol per year.
Trends. At the end of World War I, there were significant accounts receivable from European buyers. To solve the situation, businessman Luis Benedetti accepted that his debtors would pay off those accounts with products: wines, canned foods and, among others, a liquor unknown until then in Venezuela: whiskey.
In 1919 he organized a small distribution house (Distribuidora Benedetti) to be able to sell those products and compensate for outstanding accounts, which occurred with great success.
As a result of Benedetti's efforts, the first bottles of Old Parr whiskey, popularly known as Viejo Parra, and the French Rödel preserves arrived in Caracas, which introduced new consumption habits in the country. This was recorded in Contributions of immigrants to the formation of the Venezuelan food regime in the 20th century, by Rafael Cartay.
Thus, toast traditions changed in the country. Fifteen years ago, drinking whiskey was the most traditional custom at celebrations, says Pedro Guzmán, former president of Civea.
To a lesser extent, the trend continues but does not click with global preferences. “The best-selling whiskey in the world is Johnnie Walker's Red Label, which has never been successful here because our people die for a Black Label, an Old Parr, or a Buchanan's,” brands distributed by the international Diageo.
Meanwhile, the glasses are also filled with wine and they are opening a niche in the country's beverage market. Last year, imports of this liquor ranked third, with $1.33 million.
According to figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the first place in liquor imports in 2011 was Scotch with US$86.22 million, and vodka was followed with US$1.38 million. Behind wine was anise, with US$1.27 million. Further behind were tequila, with US$340 thousand, then gin, which imported US$209 thousand, and finally rum and brandy, which totaled US$122 thousand.
Guzmán highlights that in the case of wines, reds, whites or rosés now enjoy a popularity unthinkable in previous years. “As our consumer goes a lot for status, it is now very fashionable to drink wine because it brings class. Above all, it is women who have imposed this fashion,” he points out.
Regarding those that sell the most in Venezuela, Guzmán highlights that those from Chile and Argentina compete with any bottle of wine brought from Spain, France or Italy, due to costs, tariff preferences and quality improvements in southerners. Ten years ago this was the other way around.
With soda. With water, with soda, pure or on the rocks, a study carried out by Quantum Research (2010) revealed that among the first whiskey brands that Venezuelans prefer are Buchanan's, Black Label and Old Parr, all from Diageo. In fourth place is Checkers, from the same company, and then Chivas Regal, from Pernod Ricard.
On the rum side, Cacique and Pampero stand out, belonging to Diageo and also marketed in Europe and some Asian countries. Then, Ron Santa Teresa; It is positioned with Gran Reserva (standard category), Santa Teresa Selecto (premium), Santa Teresa 1976 (super premium), in addition to the Santa Teresa white rums and the rum-based liqueurs: Arakú and Orange Liqueur.
What is never missing in Venezuelan homes during the Christmas season is the traditional Ponche Crema.
José Rafael Mandry, executive president of the Centro Liquor Industrial Complex, knows the market very well and, above all, knows what the consumer likes. It is not difficult for him to recognize the obvious: “I know that people do not drink Ponche Crema to get rid of the heat. I also know that we can't compete with beer. But we have our target and December is when we stand out the most,” says the former president of Civea.
Of the creamy liquor created by Don Eliodoro González P. in 1900, today 5,000 liters are produced daily. Sales skyrocket between September and October, in the local market and Spain, the Dominican Republic and the United States.
Mandry imports other liquors and produces sparkling wines, sangrias, distillates and wines such as the popular Sagrada Familia. He also knows about rums. In addition to producing and distributing the Ocumare, and making the Pampero and the Anniversary that Diageo later sold, he worked for the “Ron de Venezuela” Denomination of Controlled Origin, when he was president of Civea.
The recognition was granted in 2003 by the Autonomous Intellectual Property Service to the vintages produced by Bebidas El Muco, Complejo Industrial Licorero del Centro, Destilería Carúpano, Destilerías Unidas, Diageo Venezuela, Envacar del Caribe and Ron Santa Teresa.
These are the main brands in the country that meet the requirements of having rums aged for a minimum of two years in oak barrels in all of their components. Along with rum, only Chuao cocoa and Pecaya cocuy have the designation.
Mandry believes that this is what has returned national rum to the status it once had. “Before whiskey became the most consumed spirit in the country, rum had the podium,” he says, dating back to the mid-1980s.
“By then, Venezuelans consumed a lot of liquor and rum, which represented on average 75% of total liquor consumption, excluding beer. Cocuy was also drunk a lot in the interior of the country, because its flavor is very similar to the tequila they make in Mexico. They were issues of traditions and above all of costs, a factor that was left aside when we entered the boom era, in the 90s; There everyone was already ringing their whiskey and forgetting about rum, until we achieved the designation of origin, almost ten years later.”
The rest is marketing, palate, cultural readjustment and acceptance of quality. It is no coincidence that even at Venezuelan weddings the change is being noticed when it comes to clinking glasses and saying: Cheers!
